From 2006 to 2015, Canada had a prime minister who offered few public insights about his inner life.
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who → have → life
However, he had his passions.
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he → have → passions
In these excerpts from his new memoir “Here for Canada: Memoirs of the 22nd Prime Minister,” Harper recounts three moments where the piano-playing PM’s interest in music came to the fore.
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interest → recount → fore
In 2008, when Paul McCartney was touring in North America, he had a concert in Quebec City to celebrate its 400th anniversary.
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he → tour → anniversary
During that time, he had appeared on television with his then-wife Heather Mills attacking the Canadian seal hunt — a fashionable cause for celebrities at that time.
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wife → appear → time
But this annual harvest had worked hard to adopt more humane killing measures over the decades, and my Government strongly supported it as a critical industry in parts of Atlantic and Northern Canada, especially among the Inuit.
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Government → work → Inuit
Frankly, I was fed up with affluent celebrities looking to burnish their social activism credentials at the expense of these Canadian workers.
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I → feed → workers
So when Ray Novak came into my office one day saying he had, of all people, Paul McCartney on the line and that he wanted to talk with me, I asked him what it was regarding.
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it → come → what
“I think it’s about the seal hunt,” Ray said.
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Ray → think → hunt
“Well, then, tell him I won’t take the call,” was my immediate response.
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response → tell → call
Stunned, Ray asked, “Really?
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Ray → stun → ?
“Yeah, just tell him I’m not taking the call,” I responded.
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I → tell → call
Ray went back to his office and delivered the message, making me, I suspect, the first person since Decca Records refused to sign the Beatles in 1962 not to take a call from Paul McCartney.
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Records → go → McCartney
I felt terrible about it, not just because I am a huge Beatles fan but also because, as a McCartney watcher, I could see that this out-of-character, abrasive activism was the product of a doomed marriage.
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activism → feel → marriage
All that said, it was not a hard decision.
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it → say → ?
As prime minister, I took seriously my foremost duty to represent the interests of the Canadian people.
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I → take → people
On this matter, I was defending those interests, and the views of a foreign celebrity were irrelevant.
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views → defend → celebrity
Given the publicity-seeking nature of their careers, such associations can be a dangerous thing.
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associations → give → careers
However, my eventual 2013 meeting with McCartney in Ottawa did have an ulterior motive.
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meeting → have → motive
It had been facilitated by representatives of the Canadian music industry as part of their efforts to influence the government on copyright policy.
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It → facilitate → policy
As we were, in fact, examining the issue of expiring copyrights on 1960s music, this was pertinent.
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this → examine → music
McCartney’s office had been clear that he wished to raise “issues related to the music business” with me.
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he → wish → me
We had indicated that I would listen but make no commitments.
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I → indicate → commitments
I met Sir Paul about a half-hour before he went on stage.
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he → meet → stage
He was cordial in introducing himself, but instead of bringing up anything about the music business, he started asking me about my trip to Lac-Mégantic and if I could share some of the things I had seen and witnessed on the ground.
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I → introduce → ground
From his demeanour, it was clear that the event had shaken him.
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event → shake → him
He paid careful attention as I spoke and at the end asked, “Is there anything I can do?”
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I → pay → end
I responded that I would be going back to Lac-Mégantic, probably several times in the near future for funerals and memorials, and I would certainly pass on his condolences.
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I → respond → condolences
McCartney never did raise the business issues.
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McCartney → raise → issues
After our meeting, Sir Paul proceeded to put on a magnificent show.
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Paul → proceed → show
He played for three hours.
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He → play → hours
At seventy-one years old, he took no breaks, although his much younger bandmates did …
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bandmates → take → breaks
It was wonderful to see McCartney doing what he clearly loved as if he were still a teenager.
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he → see → what
Two weeks later, when his tour took him to Quebec City, Sir Paul paid to bring a thousand fans from Lac-Mégantic to the concert.
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Paul → take → concert
Further, he offered free concert tickets for all those willing to go to Lac-Mégantic to help with the recovery.
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he → offer → recovery
Only sometime later did I receive a short letter from him on the copyright issues.
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I → receive → issues
As a politician, I have a sufficiently cynical side about the things that people say.
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people → have → that
However, in this case, Sir Paul showed how genuine his sympathies for the people of Lac-Mégantic were.
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sympathies → show → Mégantic
He did not have to do what he did.
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he → have → what
For me, it was refreshing to meet somebody you admire for something and find them to be worthy of that admiration in other areas of their life as well.
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them → meet → life
…and 61 more, not listed.
The Aporia
